Paul Cleary
Introduction
Paul Cleary was a teacher at The McAuley Catholic High School in Doncaster, where he had worked since April 2015. In June 2024 he was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of engaging in sexual communication with a child and of three counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust. The offending concerned a pupil referred to in the decision only as Student A. In August 2025 a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency found the allegations proved, and David Oatley, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited him from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.
Background Information
The decision records that Cleary commenced employment at The McAuley Catholic High School, Doncaster on 13 April 2015; it does not state his subject or role at the school. The case reached the Teaching Regulation Agency by referral, and a notice of meeting dated 8 April 2025 put a single allegation to him: that he had been convicted of a relevant offence. Cleary admitted the allegations in a statement of agreed facts signed on 7 March 2025, and the TRA agreed to his request that the case be considered without a hearing. The panel, chaired by a lay panellist with a second lay panellist and a teacher panellist, met by virtual meeting on 15 August 2025 and considered the case in private.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Sexual offences against a pupil.
On 6 June 2024, at Sheffield Crown Court, Cleary was convicted of engaging in sexual communication with a child, contrary to Section 15A(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and of three counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust, contrary to Section 16(1)(e)(i) of the same Act — conduct the certificate of conviction described as non-penetrative sexual activity with a child. On 11 July 2024 he was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with conditions of a six-month curfew, 100 hours of unpaid work and a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement. He was also made subject to a restraining order preventing any contact with Student A for 10 years, and his name was added to the sex offenders register under a 10-year notification requirement.
Because Cleary had admitted the allegations and a certificate of conviction from Sheffield Crown Court was before the panel, it took the conviction as conclusive proof of both the conviction and the facts necessarily implied by it, finding no exceptional circumstances. The panel found allegations 1(a) and 1(b) proven and found that he had been convicted of relevant offences. It held that his conduct breached the Teachers’ Standards, including treating pupils with dignity, observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position, and safeguarding pupils’ well-being.
In its sanction reasoning, the panel found that “his behaviour fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher, and he sought to exploit his position of trust”. There was “no evidence that Mr Cleary’s actions were not deliberate”; the panel noted in this regard that he had “actively sought Student A’s personal e-mail address to communicate with her”. The panel found these offences to be very serious, and found that his actions as proven were “wholly incompatible with his working as a teacher”. It also held that the panel “did not find any material evidence of insight or remorse on the part of Mr Cleary”.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The panel found a “strong public interest consideration in the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils and the protection of other members of the public”, alongside maintaining public confidence in the profession and upholding proper standards of conduct. It decided that publishing the adverse findings alone would unacceptably compromise the public interest, and recommended that a prohibition order be imposed with immediate effect, without a review period. On 19 August 2025, David Oatley, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, accepted that recommendation and imposed the prohibition order. The published decision is a regulatory record and contains no reference to press coverage or public comment. The concrete consequences were the criminal sentence and its conditions, the 10-year restraining order, the sex offenders registration, and the loss of his entitlement to teach in England.
Current Status
Cleary is “prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England”. The decision maker found that “allowing for no review period is necessary to maintain public confidence and is proportionate and in the public interest”, and no review period was set. Because of the seriousness of the findings, the decision states that he “shall not be entitled to apply for restoration” of his eligibility to teach. The order takes effect from the date it is served on him, and he has a “right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days” from the date he is given notice of the order.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The prohibition order ended Cleary’s teaching career in England. The panel acknowledged it had before it “no evidence of previous wrongdoing in his long career”, but found that the adverse public interest considerations outweighed any interest in retaining him in the profession. With no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration, the ban is permanent and leaves no route back to teaching in England. The criminal consequences also remain of record: the suspended sentence, the restraining order protecting Student A and the sex offenders notification requirement.